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Words as taonga

New Zealanders will value the words, sounds and pictures created and collected as documentary heritage to learn from the past and inspire our future.

Context

Libraries, museums, archives, and galleries are increasingly expected to provide content and experiences, both digital and in person that encourage the creation of new works.

New Zealand has a super-diverse population of over 200 ethnicities, with 160 languages spoken. New Zealand is set to have a faster cultural evolution than most other countries in the next 15 years, due to a higher birth rate amongst our Māori, Asian and Pacific populations.1

Te reo Māori usage continues to diminish, with Māori able to converse in te reo declining from 25% to 21% between 1996 and 2013. Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori/Māori Language Act 2016 affirms Māori language as taonga and seeks to revitalise it over the next 5 years through dual Crown and iwi strategies.2

The long-term accessibility of digital collections is a critical problem worldwide.3 The National Library of New Zealand alone holds over 142TB of digital collections — nearly 1,500 times the size of Wikipedia. Our digital collections have increased tenfold in the last 5 years.4 The continual pace of change in software, hardware and systems, and the exponential growth of digital collections, affects the ability to read and understand digital materials now and in the future.

Horizon 1: Continuous improvement

Opportunities we see

The launch of a new exhibition housing the Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Women’s Suffrage petition and the Declaration of Independence, and a redeveloped auditorium at the National Library in Wellington.

What success could look like

New public programmes at the National Library that encourage learning about the Treaty and other constitutional documents.

A state-of-the-art space at the National Library for discussion and debate about New Zealand and its peoples.

Strengthened New Zealand and Pacific collections across institutions to reflect New Zealand’s changing population and culture.

Horizon 2: Next generation

Opportunities we see

Draw on the strength of the National Library’s published Māori language collections to help revitalise te reo Māori.

Collaborative technologies and digital communications can support new ways of working and sharing knowledge across cultural and heritage institutions.

What success could look like

Digitisation and distribution of te reo Māori published content, much of which is out of print, utilising partnerships with publishers and authors.

Shared expertise to enable New Zealand’s cultural and heritage institutions to acquire, curate and preserve our documentary heritage and make it accessible.

Horizon 3: Exploration and transformation

Opportunities we see

UNESCO supports collaboration between New Zealand and Pacific collecting institutions to ensure preservation of and access to documentary heritage, helping to protect the memory of New Zealand and Pacific peoples.

National and international partnerships with libraries and repositories are generating innovative solutions to the challenge of digital preservation.

What success could look like

A national documentary heritage framework and strategy for institutional collaboration, addressing the disparate approaches to preservation, and improving access.

A greater diversity of writers, creators, researchers and publishers are supported and inspired to create and share our diverse New Zealand heritage and mātauranga Māori.

A sustainable, fit-for-purpose digital preservation approach for New Zealand and the Pacific to ensure that new digital collections and content generated by increased digitisation can be managed and accessed.

Read more about the strategy

One knowledge network: Transforming the way knowledge is shared to ensure New Zealanders have easy access to publicly held collections and research.

A nation of readers: Creating a nation of readers with the skills for a modern life, to build social cohesion, participation and well-being.

Words as taonga: New Zealanders will value the words, sounds and pictures created and collected as documentary heritage to learn from the past and inspire our future.

Published submissions: Read what people are saying about the National Library's Draft Strategic Direction to 2030: Positioning for the Future